The Norwalk Public Financing Authority on Oct. 7 continued public consideration of a draft infrastructure financing plan for a proposed Enhanced Infrastructure Financing District, leaving the item open for a final hearing on Nov. 18.

The presentation, by consultant Joe Dieguez of Cosmont Companies, described the EIFD as “a funding and financing tool for infrastructure … to support private sector investment, all of this without adding any new taxes,” and reiterated that the proposed financing allocates portions of future property tax revenue within a defined boundary rather than raising new taxes. Joe Dieguez, consultant with Cosmont Companies, told the authority that the district boundary would total roughly 200 acres and that the city and county were each being asked to commit to allocating 50% of their respective property tax shares that arise within the district to eligible projects.

The plan, attached to staff materials, lays out eligible uses that include affordable housing, roadway and utility improvements, parks and open space, and transit connections. Dieguez said Cosmont’s revenue projections are based on private-sector proposals and planned development in the area and estimated the present-value of the district’s tax increment over its lifetime at about $70 million. He added the district would be structured so revenues could be bonded and could help attract additional third‑party grant funding.

Staff and the consultant emphasized the public process: notices were mailed to affected owners and taxing entities, published in the Norwalk Patriot and posted on the city’s EIFD website, and the public financing authority will hold at least one more technical hearing before the final hearing scheduled for Nov. 18. Dieguez said the county board of supervisors has tentatively scheduled consideration for Nov. 12 and that county participation should be finalized before the authority’s Nov. 18 final hearing.

Authority members asked clarifying questions about which parcels’ taxes would be captured and how publicly owned parcels would be treated if converted to private use. Dieguez said the plan captures only property tax generated within the colored parcels on the plan map; if a parcel currently has $0 assessed value because it is publicly owned, any future private development putting property on the tax roll would begin producing increment for the EIFD. The authority discussed the spread of parcels across the city—described by the presenter as “almost like a checkerboard”—and that eligible parcels were identified by staff where private investment is concentrated.

No public speakers registered for tonight’s hearing. The authority did not adopt or reject the financing plan at this meeting; staff and the consultant characterized tonight as a technical hearing in a multi-step process and said no action tonight would mean the matter is continued to the final public hearing on Nov. 18. The presentation and technical appendices remain available on the city’s EIFD website for public review.

Background: an EIFD is a localized financing mechanism that captures a portion of future tax increment within a defined boundary. The authority’s draft plan describes boundary, eligible projects, financial participation, and projected fiscal impacts to taxing entities; the presentation emphasized the plan does not create new taxes and that the county’s participation is being coordinated separately with the county board.